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RIP Bruce Sutter

Former Cub closer Bruce Sutter died this morning at the age of 69.  Sutter, elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006, spent five seasons with the Cubs from 1976 through 1980, earning four All Star nods, numerous MVP votes, and a Cy Young Award.  He was traded to the Cardinals prior to the 1981 season, where he would become one of the most recognizable stars of the game and a World Series champion in 1982.  He signed with the Braves as a free agent after the 1984 season, where injuries would bring his career to a premature end in 1988.  His career total of 300 saves is currently tied for 30th in MLB history.

Sutter began closing games for the Cubs late in the 1976 season, earning 10 saves before season’s end.  When Herman Franks became Cubs manager in 1977, he had Sutter closing games from the get-go.  Despite an August injury, he finished the year with a 1.34 ERA, 31 saves, and a 6.5 bWAR, finishing in sixth place for Cy Young voting and seventh place in MVP voting.  In 1979, Sutter led all of MLB in saves, with 37, for the first of what would be four straight seasons, earning the Cy Young Award along the way.

Following that year, Sutter became the first Cub to enter the new arbitration system.  The Cubs offered Sutter $350,000, an increase of nearly 50 percent from his 1979 salary, while Sutter asked for $700,000.  When the arbitrator awarded the higher figure to Sutter, the Wrigley family claimed they couldn’t afford it.  While Sutter put up another great season in 1980, the Cubs lost 98 games and, after the season, he was traded to the Cardinals for Leon Durham, Ken Reitz and Ty Waller.

Sutter still had one more important role to play in Cubs lore.  In 1984, while still a member of the Cardinals, he was on the mound in the ninth inning of a nationally televised game trying to hold on to a 9-8 lead.  Ryne Sandberg, at the time a young, unheralded second baseman not known for power, hit a home run to send the game to extra innings.  After the Cardinals plated two in the top of the 10th, Sutter came back out to once again try to wrap up the victory.  After two quick outs and a walk to Bob Dernier, Sandberg once again teed off, hitting his second game-tying home run in as many innings.  The Cubs would eventually win what is now known as “The Sandberg Game” in the 11th and Ryne Sandberg was on his way to becoming a star.

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Breaking New Ground

Earlier this week, Major League Baseball became the first major professional sports league to sign a sponsorship agreement with a CBD brand.  The multi-year deal makes Charlotte’s Web the “Official CBD of Major League Baseball,” with the goal, according to a press release, to increase brand visibility among MLB athletes and fans.  The sponsorship deal coincides with the launch of the new WebTM SPORT – Daily Edge, a hemp-derived, broad-spectrum tincture that supposedly meets MLB’s standards for acceptable substances among players.  The MLB logo will appear on the bottle and Daily Edge will be available in gummies, topicals, and oral sprays.

MLB continues to push the envelope when it comes to sponsors that, should their players participate, would end in a suspension.  It will be interesting to see if any player who gets popped for a failed drug test in the future claims that this is all they were taking.

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FB8 – Week 37

Another disappointing week where I’m still stuck below 30,000 steps.  Things got off to an ok start on Sunday, where I finished 12 steps away from 4200.  Monday turned into the best day of the week, ending with 4700 steps.  Tuesday fell off a bit, needing an additional 15 steps to get to 4000.  The final day of the baseball regular season on Wednesday led to one last visit to Guaranteed Rate Field and nearly 4200 steps.  Things fell off on Thursday, as I managed only 3500 steps.  Friday improved somewhat, jumping back over 4000 steps.  Saturday was even better, going up to 4400 thanks in part to a trip to the barber.

Total steps: 26.298

Daily average: 3756.9

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Book 44 (of 52) – I’m Glad My Mom Died

I’m Glad My Mom Died – Jennette McCurdy

In I’m Glad My Mom Died, the new memoir from former teen actress Jennette McCurdy, she details the struggles she has been through and how, after coming to terms the abuse she suffered, she has come through the other side healthy and ready to move on.  An emotionally and physically abusive relationship with her mother, who pushed her into acting as a young child, taught her to become anorexic as a way to delay puberty, and showered her into her mid-teens, ended when her mother died of cancer. But the repercussions from those actions, which, at the time, McCurdy did not recognize as abuse, impacted the next decade of her life, leading to bulimia, alcoholism, and unhealthy relationships with men.

McCurdy, who came to fame starring in children’s shows on Nickelodeon like iCarly and Sam & Cat, pulls no punches in this memoir.  She had previously turned down hush money from Nickelodeon, so she was able to talk about the uncomfortable feelings she had when dealing with “the creator” aka Dan Schneider, who had seen his teen show kingdom shut down over accusations of inappropriate behavior.  She was oblivious to her mother’s abuse, yet was able to recount it in a way that made it obvious to outsiders.  That she was managed to survive it all and, hopefully, continue to thrive moving forward, is a bit of a miracle.

 

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Travelling The 50 States – Hawaii

Over my 47 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 30 states I have visited (60% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we start today with the 50th state to be added to the Union: Hawaii.

State: Hawaii
Joined the Union: 1959
Visits: 2

I’ve made two trips to the Hawaiian Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles from the U.S. mainland, first in 2019 and then again earlier this year.

Way back in 2019, I made my first visit to the island of Oahu, arriving the first Saturday in February.  After a day of checking out my surroundings around the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort and down Waikiki Beach, I took a tour of the island of Oahu on Monday, with stops at Hanauma Bay, Nu’uanu Pali lookout, Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, Sunset Beach, Waimea Falls, and the Dole Plantation.  Tuesday, I took in a whale watching cruise, where we were able to see multiple whales surfacing during the excursion.  After a day of relaxation on Wednesday, I traveled to Pearl Harbor on Thursday to see all of the associated attractions and museums.  I enjoyed another day of relaxation on Friday before heading home on Saturday.

Following a long pandemic, and nearly two years of working from home, I decided to break out in a big way this past January.  Using airline vouchers left over from my cancelled trips of 2020, I booked a two-week trip, returning to the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort for the first week and staying in a lesser hotel for the second.  Not knowing how the pandemic would impact the local tourist offerings, I decided to play it safe and go for ultimate relaxation.  My days were spent reading by the pool, taking the occasional swim, both in the ocean and in the pool, and listening to music and podcasts.  It was heaven.

The second week I was working remotely, meaning my days usually started at 4AM local time.  This let me wrap up the workday around noon, when I would usually head back over to the resort, to enjoy some of the outdoor spaces, or the beach.  All told, I racked up seven books and two week’s worth of 10,000+ step days.

Will I return?  Absolutely, although I would like to check out some of the other islands on future trips.

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2022 Final Pitching Leaders

Yesterday, we looked at the leaders in the 33 games I attended this year on the offensive side of the ball.  With the newly expanded Wild Card round in full swing today, it’s time to wrap up our look back at the 2022 season with the pitching leaders, starting with everyone’s favorite pitching statistic:

Wins

Name Total
Reynaldo Lopez 3
Liam Hendriks 2
Lucas Giolito 2
Dylan Cease 2
24 tied with  1

Losses

Name Total
Michael Kopech 2
Johnny Cueto 2
Davis Martin 2
26 tied with  1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Clayton Kershaw 0.00
Reynaldo Lopez 0.59
Marcus Stroman 0.79
Dylan Cease 1.00
Jimmy Lambert 1.13
Nestor Cortes Jr. 1.13

Strikeouts

Name Total
Lucas Giolito 32
Michael Kopech 26
Liam Hendriks 22
Continue reading →
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2022 Final Batting Leaders

Another baseball season is in the books, with the White Sox disappointing their fans by not just failing to return to the now-expanded postseason, but also failing to post a winning record.  The Cubs, meanwhile, struggled as expected in the first half of the season but managed to put together a decent enough second half, leading some to believe that a big offseason of free agent signings will put them right back in contention.  Let’s take a look back at the offensive leaders for the 33 games that I attended this season.

Home Runs

Name Total
Gavin Sheets 6
Jose Abreu 4
Luis Robert 4
A.J. Pollock 3
Eloy Jimenez 3

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 31
Tim Anderson 26
Gavin Sheets 23
A,J. Pollock 20
Luis Robert 19

Runs

Name Total
Luis Robert 15
Jose Abreu 13
Continue reading →
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2022 Final Standings

After a delayed start to the season thanks to the long lockout last winter, we’ve managed to get through a 162-game schedule just a couple of days later than initially planned.  The new, expanded postseason is set and will go on without either Chicago team for the first time since 2019.   I ended up attending just 33 games, tied with 2012 for my 16th highest total of all time.  I only managed to add one new stadium, bringing my total up to 28.  All told, I managed to see 20 of the 30 teams.

2022 Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Los Angeles Dodgers 2 0 1.000
Texas Rangers 1 0 1.000
Baltimore Orioles 1 0 1.000
New York Mets 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 1 0 1.000
New York Yankees 2 1 0.667
Cleveland Guardians 2 1 0.667
Chicago White Sox 16 14 0.533
Minnesota Twins 2 2 0.500
Houston Astros 1 1 0.500
Detroit Tigers 1 1 0.500
Colorado Rockies 1 1 0.500
Chicago Cubs 2 5 0.286
Atlanta Braves 0 1 0.000
Los Angeles Angels 0 1 0.000
Toronto Blue Jays 0 1 0.000
Oakland Athletics 0 1 0.000
Seattle Mariners 0 1 0.000
Tampa Bay Rays 0 1 0.000
Kansas City Royals 0 1 0.000
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2022 Predictions Revisited

Six months ago, at the dawn of the lockout-delayed 2022 baseball season, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what.  With the regular season coming to an end today, it is time revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.

American League

East: Blue Jays

Well, that’s one down.  The Yankees have owned the division pretty much from day one.

Central: White Sox

After running away with the Central Division in 2021, the White Sox were a consensus pick to repeat.  Unfortunately, the baseball gods had other ideas.  While the White Sox struggled all year to put things together, the Guardians hung around long enough to get really hot in September and run away with the division.

West: Astros

Hey, here’s one I got right.  The Astros once again find themselves at the top of the division, winning their fifth title in six years.

Wild Cards: Yankees, Angels, Red Sox

The AL East was particularly strong this year, as both the Blue Jays and the Rays make it to the expanded Wild Card round.  Rounding things out are the Mariners, who make the postseason for the first time since 2001 after missing out on the final day of the season last year.

AL Champion: Yankees

The Yankees have struggled in the second half, so they aren’t the locks they looked like early in the year.  At this point, you have to assume the Astros are the team to beat.

Cy Young: Lucas Giolito

That seems very unlikely.  Justin Verlander seems like the popular choice, with Dylan Cease and Shohei Ohtani likely to also get support.

MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Aaron Judge already has his name engraved on this award.

National League

Continue reading →

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FB8 – Week 36

After a late week surge last week, disappointment settled back in as I fell back below 30,000 steps.  Things got off to an ok start on Sunday, where I finished with 4100 steps after lunch in downtown Lafayette with Danny.  Monday fell off quite a bit, dropping to 3300 steps.  Tuesday was the high point of the week, finishing with a sad 4500 steps thanks in part to my first visit to an Allstate office since March of 2020.  Wednesday was the week’s low point, finishing with only 3000 steps.  Things started to improve again on Thursday, going up to 3300 steps.  Friday saw a nice jump, going up to 4100 steps. Saturday fell off a bit, finishing 10 steps shy of 3800.

Total steps: 26.298

Daily average: 3756.9